The Question
by mimma
Summary: Akira has a question to ask Yuya. Kyo and Benitora think too much. Okuni is evil. Cue laughter.


The question

By mimma

Summary: Akira has a question to ask Yuya. Kyo and Benitora think too much. Okuni is evil. Cue laughter.

There was a semi-peaceful silence in the room. It was peaceful because there was no fighting, no bickering and no testosterone-filled displays. Yet. It was semi, because of the 'yet'. The 'yet' signified that something was about to happen, because a 'cause' had just taken place.

Cause: Yuya left the room. Effect: was going to happen sooner or later. It was just a nerve-wracking question of 'when'.

Would it be 'Tora, rushing out after his goddess in an attempt to assist her? Would it be Yukimura, taking the opportunity to tease Kyo, Benitora and Akira on the special attention they had paid to Yuya's exit from the room?

Akira stood up. He rushed from the room.

There we go. Cause: Yuya left the room. Effect: so did Akira. The natural order of things were momentarily restored. And then Okuni came in.

She leaned languorously against the doorframe, enjoying the way every male eye immediately jumped towards her.

"My," she remarked, with feigned shock and real irritation, "Akira-san just rushed past me most rudely." She was not used to being ignored by boys. "He did seem rather preoccupied, though." Akira _was_ blind. That didn't mean she couldn't get even with him for ignoring her. "He was saying something about 'have to ask her now' and 'mustn't let them know'." She watched the thoughts slowly click into place over the men's faces. Time for the finishing touch. "He seemed to be headed towards Yuya-san's room." Okuni very quickly got clear of the door in the time it took for that bland statement to take effect.

Benitora's face contorted.

Yukimura blinked.

Kyo _twitched_.

Then suddenly Okuni was alone in the room with Yukimura. Not that she was complaining.

The general raised an eyebrow at her.

She smirked back.

"How much of that was true?" he asked her archly.

She blinked innocently at him. "Why, all of it, of course. I do wonder what conclusion those two came to?"

He smiled an appreciative smile at her. Yukimura slid open the door and sauntered to the railing, where he had an absolutely stunning view of the first floor and the man Kyo was suspending in the air courtesy of the fist clenched in the unfortunate man's clothes.

.0.

"Why, Akira-san, I don't know what to say. I'm flattered, of course…"

"You only need to say yes or no. while you're deciding, let's take a walk."

"Alright!"

.0.

"It's a perfectly simple question. _Where did the blond girl and blind boy go?_" Kyo growled.

Some stray neuron of Benitora's brain not occupied with the vital matter of coming up with a way to kill Akira without upsetting Yuya found time to be impressed with the colors the man's face was turning. then it promptly went back to work.

/_How- how- **dare** that… that… **boy** even **think** of proposing marriage to **my** Yuya-han. I'll kill him!_ / of course, Benitora had decided to ignore all other possibilities. He'd gotten within a heartbeat of considering that Yuya might say 'yes' then some fail-safe mechanism shut off that train of thought before Benitora could spontaneously combust.

Kyo's thoughts could be summed up in three simple words. /_Akira. Must. Die. /_

Let's hope Akira can duck.

.0.

'Are you sure, Yuya-san? I realize this must be a difficult decision to make… especially for me."

"Of course I am. After how you asked, I could not possibly have refused you."

.0.

Kyo and Benitora finally caught up with them outside a clothing store.

"Oh!" called Yuya artlessly. "Hey, guys."

Both the 'guys' centered on Akira's hand sandwiched between both of Yuya's.

"Hey, help me out here!" Yuya chirped, not noticing that two of her favorite people had gone stock-still in a combination of homicidal rage and bone-deep despair.

"Yuya-san," whimpered Akira, cowed by a mix of female enthusiasm and the waves of conflicting ki rolling off Kyo and 'Tora. "When I asked you to help buy me some new clothes, I had hoped you would exercise somewhat more restraint in your enthusiasm. That poor merchant was nearly crying when we left him."

"Don't you want good bargains, Akira-san?"

"What?" Kyo growled, shaken from his stupor by the sound of Akira's whimper (Akira always used to make that sound when forced to deal with Akari alone for any length of time. Ah, the memories.)

"Oh, er… well, you see…" Akira hedged.

"Akira-san asked me to go shopping with him," Yuya explained, looking puzzled. "Since he can't exactly see colors…"

Then 'Tora burst out, "But why didn't you want anyone to know!"

"I didn't want to seem girly." Sighed Akira, giving it up as a bad job.

"But why are _you_ two out here?" asked Yuya, eyes going cold and hard.

"Oh- er… erm…" squirmed Benitora. "…wanted to ask you a question?"

End-

And, as an added bonus: Omake!

Akira cursed softly as he watched Yuya deal with the idiot. He'd been so close to asking her… _well, _he thought, fingering the ring box in his hand. _There will always be next time. _And the next time… he would not fail.


End file.
